Foxwoods to help revive casino in Bahamas

Monday

Feb 25, 2008 at 12:01 AMFeb 25, 2008 at 9:55 AM

The drive to diversify has taken the Mashantucket Pequots to the banks of the Delaware River in Philadelphia, the mountains north of San Diego, Calif., the fields of southeastern Kansas and, now, to the Bahamas.

Erica Jacobson

The drive to diversify has taken the Mashantucket Pequots to the banks of the Delaware River in Philadelphia, the mountains north of San Diego, Calif., the fields of southeastern Kansas and, now, to the Bahamas.

The Foxwoods Development Co. announced Thursday it has partnered with an Irish property development firm to help resurrect and run a hurricane-damaged resort and casino in Freeport, Bahamas.

The Royal Oasis Resort, owned by the Dublin-headquartered Harcourt Developments, was shuttered in September 2004 after being hit by hurricanes Frances and Jeanne.

A spokesman for the Mashantucket Pequot tribe said the partners hope for a spring 2010 opening.

"We hope to move forward with it as quickly as possible," Bruce MacDonald said Friday.

The tribal development company will act as consultants on the rebuilding project and then run the site's hotel and casino.

Harcourt will handle the resort's golf courses and time-shares. The company has developed other business, residential, shopping and hotel projects in the United Kingdom, eastern Europe, Las Vegas and the Caribbean.

"We're delighted to have partnered with such world-class operators as Foxwoods who have a wealth of experience and expertise in the leisure industry," Pat Power, Harcourt's director, said in statement this week.

The venture is the latest for the Mashantuckets, who have seen mixed success with off-reservation projects. The tribe owns and operates Spa at Norwich Inn as well as Lake of Isles golf course in North Stonington, but proposed casinos in Philadelphia and Kansas have hit delays.

A partnership between the development company and the Pauma Yuima Band of Mission Indians will build a $300 million expansion to the California tribe's Casino Pauma north of San Diego, but no timeline has been set for when construction will begin.

Reach Erica Jacobson at 425-4241 or ejacobs@norwichbulletin.com

OTHER MASHANTUCKET PEQUOT PROJECTS AND PROGRESS:

Other Foxwoods Casino Philadelphia: A $986 million joint casino, dining, entertainment and hotel project with Washington Philadelphia Investors. Legal and local challenges have tied up progress on the facility and a groundbreaking date has not been set yet.

Casino Pauma, Pauma Valley, Calif.: The $300 million expansion of the casino operated by the Pauma Yuima Band of Mission Indians north of San Diego is still in development.

Sumner County, Kansas: The proposal submitted by the Foxwoods Development Company, MGM Mirage, Chisholm Creek Ventures and the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska was denied by the county. The group now is working with a nearby town on an annexation proposal that could give the project a second chance.

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